The recent news of course attacks veganism again, using a study that's not even published, and says "vegetarian diet 'weakens bones'". If your friends ever ask, higher bone density does not equal strong bones. Further, vegan diet actually promotes strong bones. Read 'The China Study' and you will find out that osteoporosis was more common in people with higher consumption of animal products. ('The China Study' is a published, large-scale study that was peer-reviewed and was not funded by a particular industry.)

Personally, I've seen many people who suffered from osteoporosis due to their doctor's false assumption that they need more cow's milk for "calcium". However, their conditions worsened as they drank more cow's milk. Puzzled, once they reduced their consumption of cow's milk, their conditions actually improved.
Following article, written by Dr. McDougall (MD) also refutes this controversial study and reveals that it was indeed supported by the dairy industry.

Advertising Passed Off As Research Confuses the Public Again

He clarifies the following points:

  - This "study" is a meta-analysis, which is very biased and manipulated, and is usually referred to as "mega-silliness"; after applying this meta-analysis, the original research that includes 922 studies were shrunk to just 9 studies, including 2749 individuals

  - Half of this "study" included Asians, whose bone fracture risks are much lower thanks to their healthier diet and higher physical activity; however, this fact was excluded in most news

  - This is because Bone Mineral Density (BMD) is actually a poor predictor of future fracture risk

  - The original research concluded "…although vegans have much lower intakes of dietary calcium and protein than omnivores, veganism does not have (an) adverse effect on bone mineral density (BMD) and does not alter body composition"

  - There is no relevance that a person's choice of vegan diet increases risk of bone fractures

In addition, according to 'The China Study', Dr. Campbell (PhD) draws following points:

  - Those countries that use the most dairy products have the "highest fracture rates and the worst bone health"

  - A Yale study found that 70% of the fracture rate was due to the consumption of animal protein

  - A seven-year study at UCSF observed that the women with highest ratio of animal protein to plant protein had 3.7 times more bone fractures than the other group

  - Rather than BMD, the dietary ratio of animal-to-plant protein is a better predictor of osteoporosis

In order to minimize your risk of osteoporosis, do the following:

1. Exercise

2. Eat a wide variety of plant-based foods including leafy greens

3. Avoid dairy and other animal-based foods

4. Reduce your sodium intake

Sorry dairy lovers, ice cream & milk do not equate strong bones, contrary to the popular "study". Enjoy your ricemilk and soy ice cream instead. :)